Double Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon is the Sports Personality of the month of June 2023.
The middle distance runner shattered two World Records in a span of one week, during the month of June, a feat that no sports personality would match. She set the women’s 1500 metres world record, clocking 3:49.11 at the third Diamond League meeting of the season in Florence, Italy on June 2.
The Kenyan athlete, winner of the last two Olympic 1500m golds and the 2017 and 2022 world titles, bettered the previous mark of 3:50.07 set by Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba in 2015.
On the finish line, Kipyegon finished well ahead of Britain’s second-placed Laura Muir and the Australian Jessica Hull in third, with Kipyegon’s rivals crowding around to congratulate her after the race.
Kipyegon becomes the second athlete after Angela Okutoyi to win the SJAK award thrice.
And in winning the June trophy, Kipyegon who trains in Kaptagat, took home a personalized trophy and an LG ,……worth Kes……..from courtesy of title sponsors LG Electronic East Africa.
“I’m so happy to be among the few athletes to win this award more than twice,” Kipyegon remarked, adding: “It’s always good to see corporate entities acknowledge the good work of athletes. I’m thankful to LG for their efforts to whip up the enthusiasm of sportsmen and women in this country. The win in Florence boosted my confidence levels and I feel I have to continue pushing for better track limits.”
To win the coveted monthly trophy, Kipyegon beat five other nominees among them Commonwealth Games champion Beatrice Chebet who produced a scintillating run to clinch the 3,000m title at the Oslo Diamond League in eight minutes, 25.01 seconds, which also counted as the latter’s new personal best and world leading time.
Other nominees for June were Carl Tundo and McRae Kimathi for their WRC2 and WRC3 finishes on WRC Safari Rally, Moses Shumah for scoring Harambee Stars solitary goal at the Four Nations Tournament, Emma Wangila Nekesa for being the only African wrestler and Kenyan to have qualified for the World Beach Games in Indonesia after being ranked at position eight globally during the Singapore beach series.
Another nominee was. Beatrice Chebet who won the women’s 3000 meters in Oslo, Norway, Wanda Diamond League in a time of 8.25.01 which counted as the world lead and her new personal best.
SJAK President James Waindi thanked LG for their continued support over the past eight years.
“With the monthly award, we are seeing a growing number of upcoming and talented sports personalities among them Angela Okutoyi who won the Wimbledon Open Junior category and won this award for a record three times. Rewarding sportsmen and women is an important step towards whipping up the enthusiasts of sports personalities across all disciplines.”
